Navi Mumbai mayor announces plan to train and recruit 400 women bus drivers

In a move aimed at expanding employment opportunities for women, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) will soon train and recruit around 400 women as bus drivers for the Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) service, Mayor Sujata Patil has said.

Announcing the initiative at an International Women’s Day programme on Sunday, Patil said the civic body is focusing on creating more job opportunities for women and strengthening their financial independence.

She said that in the first phase , about 400 women will be trained and recruited as bus drivers for the NMMT fleet. The initiative is being undertaken under the guidance of Maharashtra Forest Minister Ganesh Naik and is expected to encourage greater participation of women in sectors traditionally dominated by men.

According to an official release issued on Tuesday, the training programme for the selected candidates will be conducted under the supervision of the civic body’s social development department , which will oversee skill development and driver training.

Patil emphasised that economic independence is key to genuine empowerment , adding that such initiatives can help women secure stable employment while contributing to essential public services.

The mayor expressed confidence that the programme would not only strengthen women’s participation in the workforce but also bring positive change to the public transport sector.

She said the initiative could serve as a model for other cities seeking to promote women’s empowerment by opening up new opportunities for them in public transport operations, especially at a time when India’s female labour force participation rate, though rising from around 23.3 per cent in 2017–18 to about 40–42 per cent in 2023–24, remains significantly below male participation and global averages, underscoring the need for targeted employment programmes for women.